With New Years fast approaching it is time to pick the best and worst appetizers. You can discuss your experiences and reasons or simply pick the ones you like or loathe that are commonly served at parties or restaurants.
I’m not a big fan of pickled herring.
You can have my crab rangoon.
I like dolma (vine leaves filled with rice), or whatever the equivalent dish is called in different Mediterranean countries.
Pass the jalapeño poppers.
mmm
I’ll always lunge for cold cooked shrimp served with cocktail sauce.
And if any kind of Asian dumpling or eggroll is served, I’m just going to go ahead and make those my whole dinner.
But I’m not a fan of smoked sausages in barbecue sauce, nor of that cheese dip mixed with salsa.
I’m trying, but can’t think of an appetizer that I don’t like.
Rumaki, pinwheels (tortillas, cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, rolled up then sliced), Gobi Manchurian, shrimp cocktail, are a few favorites.
Pigs in blankets.
I had dinner at a high end seafood restaurant that specializes in a supper club sort of experience. one nice feature is a complimentary pickle tray. it was my first exposure to pickled herring, and i have to say that I loved it. I’m generally a fan of any pickled product, so I was likely predisposed to be in favor.
You mean, pass on the jalapeño poppers, right? Ick!
But i hate peppers.
Many appetizers have strong flavors, so they are apt to be a little polarizing. Often, you love em or you hate em.
Me, i love rumaki and pickled herring.
Next time we’re at the same function we can strike a deal.
mmm
Deviled eggs always go faster than anything else I’ve ever offered, but my tortilla wraps and 7 layer dip don’t last long either.
I was served an Amuse Bouche at a restaurant in Fresno that I still think about 20 years later. It was an Arancini di riso type thing. If I knew exactly what it was and had a recipe, I’d probably eat it everyday.
So I guess it’s good I don’t have that.
Was the first thing I thought of in the “ick” side. However, I have made pickled eggs, which also did not go down well.
It was a fun cooking experience with my young kids, though.
The best appetizers are the ones I make, of course. Especially cumin-cured olives and my special devilled eggs, which are made with Duke’s and crushed Tim’s BBQ potato chips garnished with crispy bacon.
In the pickle category - try laying out sliced Koolickles. That always freaks people out who aren’t from the Delta.
I like well-made deviled eggs. There’s also a layered dip that I like (refrieds, sour cream, peppers, ground beef, salsa, seasoning, cheese). My daughter put out something this year that she referred to as “meat dip”. I guess that’s Minnesotan for “pâté”. Not so good.
I am intrigued. Are the crushed chips mixed in with the yolk/Duke’s mixture?
mmm
For quite a while, my daughter was apparently under the impression that “ordering Chinese food” meant “a guy will deliver eggrolls and fortune cookies and, for some reason, other little boxes.”
And, thinking it over: sure as she was never disappointed, I could likewise be happy making a dinner of eggrolls and nothing else besides…
Tell me more about these olives!
I love a LOT of appetizers, including pickled herring, dates stuffed with bleu cheese and wrapped on prosciutto and sauteed in a balsamic reduction, crab rangoon, and candied jalapenos on somersausage.
But what I crave right now is cold sesame noodles.
The BBQ place near me adds sausage to the cream cheese stuffing, wraps 'em in bacon and calls them Wolf Turds.
The El Diablo Cafe (sadly closed) in Torrey, Utah used to have “rattlesnake cakes” as an appetizer that were very yummy. The were made with “free range” snake meat and ground pistachios, served with ancho-rosemary aioli.